Can The Donald Win the White House in 2012?

One thing about Donald Trump. He is not afraid to speak his mind. Of course, if you have serious political ambitions (and he apparently does), saying what you REALLY believe can prove politically fatal.

Yet, the most current poll shows the New York real estate billionaire and reality show producer (The Celebrity Apprentice) in second place among Republicans–just behind former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and neck and neck with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. So what does that tell us?

Does it mean that the American people are at last ready to hear someone who tells it like it is? Does it mean that there could be a fresh wind blowing through Washington’s government palaces with their deceitful populations of prevaricating political eunuchs and concubines?

Or does it mean that we will see another H. Ross Perot emerge a la 1992 and then crash and burn as the campaign gets serious?

Somehow, I don’t think the 64-year-old Trump is another H. Ross Perot. For one thing the things he says have the ring of truth to them.

Let’s take a look at a few of his most recent comments:

“I hate what’s happening to this country,” he told Newsmax recently. “I hate to see this country ripped off by every other smart nation — China, India, Mexico. You look at the jobs that are pouring into Mexico. We give them incentives to move people out of Iowa. Newton, Iowa, got destroyed by Mexico. They had incentives from this government and they built the plant in Mexico and it wiped out a town called Newton.”

Trump said, if elected, he would not hire “diplomats to negotiate with the Red Chinese, because we’re dealing with people who truly are not only smart, they’re great natural negotiators. They’re not our friends. They’re looking to strip us of everything they can strip us of.

“This country is in serious trouble. It’s not going to be a great country for long. It may not be a great country now. This country has to be brought back. Go out and get the toughest, smartest guys, because that’s what you need if you’re going to beat China and other countries.”

Trump is right about China. It is NOT our friend. China is out for itself and if we are not careful, it will own the United States. Who is propping up the dollar, buying our Treasury bills, etc? It is China. How long will that go on? Only as long as it benefits the Chinese–or perhaps until they own the Washington Monument.

“The federal government has no money,” Trump said recently. “It’s being taken away between fighting wars and being the policeman for countries that in all fairness we shouldn’t have been in in the first place. I’m a very conservative person. I am the world’s greatest hawk. I am a very militant person. I’m a big believer in the military. But we should be rebuilding our own country.

“We go to Afghanistan, we build a road, we build a highway. We build a school at the end of the highway. The school gets blown up, the road gets blown up, and we’re starting all over again. Why aren’t we building roads in Alabama? Why aren’t we building roads in New Jersey coming into Manhattan? You come into Manhattan on roads that look like we’re a Third World country. And you think they’re going to have democracy [in Afghanistan]? I don’t think so. We’ve totally defanged Iraq. As soon as we leave, Iran will come in and take over the oil of Iraq. And frankly, I think if somebody’s going to take over the oil in Iraq, maybe it should be us.

“I would like to rebuild the United States. I go to Abu Dhabi, I go to Qatar and other places. You go to China and they have airports that are so unbelievable, that they are building with our money. China is rebuilding itself. We are rebuilding China. Then you come into Kennedy International Airport and it’s obsolete. It’s a Third World airport. We have to rebuild our self.”

The fact is China and OPEC are destroying the U.S economy. While everybody talks about an open and free global economy, that is not the case when it comes to China and many of our other so-called “friends.” These countries manipulate their currencies to keep their goods priced low. They also erect barriers to American products or make it difficult for American firms to do business within their borders.

Trump’s idea is to place a 25 percent tax on Chinese goods if it continues to manipulate its currency. He also said the United States needs to get much tougher with OPEC. Amen to that!

Yet many Americans fear that getting tougher with China, OPEC and other nations who have policies harmful to the U.S. economy could ultimately be bad for the U.S.Trump is not convinced. “Our weak president that kisses everybody’s ass is in more wars than I’ve ever seen,” Trump said recently. “He’s in Libya. He’s in Afghanistan. He’s in Iraq. Nobody respects us … Can I do worse?”

I don’t think so.

Then there is the fact that Trump has the money needed to run a presidential campaign–which is estimated to cost about $600 million. When asked recently if he had that kind of money to spend he responded:

“Much more than that. That’s one of the nice things. I mean, part of the beauty of me is that I’m very rich. So if I need $600 million, I could put up $600 million myself. That’s a huge advantage.”

Trump’s net worth is $2.7 billion, making him the 137th richest person in the U.S., according to Forbes magazine. President Obama raised nearly $750 million in 2008, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. So, if it comes down to money, there is little doubt that Trump could hold his own against Obama.

The biggest question is whether or not Trump will get the Republican nomination. That would be a stretch. He is not a Republican insider, he has no political track record and he is considered a loose cannon by Republican leaders like Karl Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush.

The other question is whether or not Trump would run as an independent candidate if he did not get the Republican nod.

H. Ross Perot tried that and all he did was take votes away from President Bush senior. If that is what Trump has in mind, then I suspect the Democrats are already licking their chops.

I think Trump is more politically savvy than that, however. If he doesn’t get the Republican nomination then perhaps which ever Republican candidate wins the White House will do the smart thing and send The Donald to China as our ambassador.